You'd think the first family trip for Disney fans out west we'd be chomping at the bit to get into the parks. Oh no. I was smarter than that. Disneyland's parks are largely locals parks. On the weekends they're significantly more busy than weekdays. Besides, Disneyland isn't the only thing out west worth seeing. We had a few things we wanted to do. So, we rented an SUV from the Alamo car rental place that's right there in Downtown Disney and set off in search of adventure. And lunch. We were starving!
For lunch we zipped into an extremely packed California favorite that we've heard so many people rave about: In-N-Out Burger!
One of the things we were sure to try was the not-on-the-menu, highly touted "Animal Fries".
Californians, you may want to skip the final assessment part here. I don't want you to hate me. 
Either we went to a not-very-good In-N-Out location (that's plausible) or it's a lot of hype for nothing. The burgers were okay. Nothing exceptional. No mayo? Really? How do you eat a burger without mayo? Or fries? Now let us discuss the fries. How do you eat fries that have no taste? Or salt? The animal fries were edible because there was stuff on them to give them some taste but the fries themselves were like eating nothing. No taste. Tracey refused to eat his. Brian, not usually a fry guy anyway, wouldn't eat them. I ate a few then devoured the ones that had the animal goo on them. Chandler didn't eat many of the fries either. Verdict: In-N-Out isn't that great. ((Noteably, I tried Sprinkles cupcakes [they started out in CA & have a lot of hype] a few weeks before this trip and they weren't that swooft either.))
In-N-Out verdict reached unanimously, we proceeded on out to Huntington Beach. When I spotted this sign I had to take a few pictures. Pacific Coast Hwy! We were THERE! We saw this!!!! Not in pictures. Not on tv. Not in a movie. We SAW this!
As we headed south towards Newport I was totally taken with how different the surroundings were. Palm trees AND mountains in the distance. It was amaaaaaazing to me!
Then there were the super- exotic- Holy CRAP- cars we kept seeing. Not that big a deal to most people but when your 18 yro is a car guy, cars are a very veeeeery big deal. This one, he believes now, is a Rossion. I've never even heard of that one. LOL!
***edit***
It bugged Chandler that he wasn't certain about this car. After much studying and searching he has discovered this is, in fact, a Factory Five GTM. Factory Five produces various kit-type cars. Their GTM model is considered a "supercar" and, when tested by Car & Driver in 2007, proved faster from 0-60 than some pretty big boys such as Porsche Carrera GT, Lamborghini Murcielago, and Ferrari Enzo. A video of this exact same car that we saw (license plates match) can be seen HERE.
We drove thru Newport Beach on the Pacific Coast Hwy. There were Holy CRAP car dealerships all over the place. Holy CRAP cars aplenty. I didn't take any pictures yet just because I was kinda wow'd by it all, too.
Then we arrived at our destination: Crystal Cove State Park.
We parked the truck and followed the boardwalk path.
And this was what was waiting for us. I kid you not, I was speechless. I've never seen anything like this with my own eyes. It was like being in a dream. Truly. I have always dreamed of seeing something like this and here I am. It's real.
Looking down from the end of the boardwalk path was this area of tide pools. Apparently we nailed-it for timing because the tide was out. Incredible.
I think these shots may go on Tracey's desk.
